Groovy new helmet!

My new Sky helmet arrived today, it's really comfortable and light and comes with a surprising amount of instructions!

I've had pain free cycling for a week now and it's been great, it makes such a difference.  Saturday I had a great ride with the Dulwich Paragon in the sunshine. Saturday afternoon we went to a bike shop to try a Pinarello, "unfortunately" they only had my size in the next model up. I took it out for a spin and it was great! I've managed to find the same bike a bit cheaper in Evans and have ordered it in to try! I've completely blown the budget but have justified this by it being my birthday yesterday, by not having traded in my car for the soft top I wanted and telling myself at the age of 90 I'm hardly going to look back and say "I wish I hadn't spent that extra money on the bike". Just hoping I don't turn round to myself next year and say it!

Pragmatism or Passion?!

Progress was a little slow after the long ride in my last post, in subsequent rides my good right knee decided to play up. So i decided to stay off the bike (again) for the next few days. I was due to take part in the Little Lumpy Sportive at the weekend but decided that hills should probably be avoided. Instead I joined mentor Matt and fellow etaper Kevin for 2 laps of the flat-ish Windsor triathlon route, which was good and not too painful! A trip to the physio confirmed the right knee issue is not too serious, he strapped it up and now it's feeling much better. So, onwards and upwards!

I went for a lovely ride round Richmond Park this morning, it was great to be out in the sunshine. I definitely need to get fitter though, my heart rate was far too high and I was at the back of the group. I am determined to nail this though and am all the more spurred on by the workshop we had a Sky yesterday.

On to more positive things: bike shopping! My Specialized Dolce Sport definitely isn't going to cut it! I've seen a bike fitter who has looked at my bike and recommended sizing for a new bike, he has also managed to get me a really good deal on a Pinarello FP2 in Sky colours. So now I have a dilemma, the Boardman or the Pinarello ?? White or Blue? British or Italian? Value or extravagance? Pragmatism or passion? Rival or Shimano?! A bike test on Saturday should be the decider, watch this space...

Barker is back!

After a couple of test rides in the week I did my first long ride for 4 weeks on Saturday, it was 86Km and much harder work than it should have been! However, the knee held out and I don't seem to have any aches and pains. I could kiss my physio! I have definately lost a lot of fitness though, I was struggling to keep up and am going to have to work very hard over the next few weeks.